Farm Report

AAA: Jason Hirsh continues to struggle. Last night he allowed THREE hits in five scoreless innings, and the Express struck late with a pair of runs to defeat Memphis 2-0. Jailen Peguero pitched another scoreless inning in relief. Brooks Conrad won the game with a two-run shot in the eighth inning, and Jason Lane was 0-3 with a walk and a pair of K's. The Express have a 12.5 game lead over New Orleans in the PCL American South division.

AA: The Hooks open up a four game set tonight at home versus Midland. The Hooks won the first-half division title and currently hold a one-game lead in the second half race.

High A: Felipe Paulino Del Guidice (man, I hope Milo's still around when this guy makes the big club) allowed only two hits in six scorless innings and struck out seven to earn his fifth win of the season, defeating Potomac 6-0. In another local twist, Houston native Clint Everts gave up three runs in six hitless innings, walking six. Beau Torbert was the offensive star with a three-run double. The Avalanche have crept within 2.5 games of first place Myrtle Beach in the second half divisional race.

Low A: Lexington beat West Virginia 5-1 in 16 innings on a Mitch Einertson (pictured) walk-off grand slam. Is that any good? Brad James continued his incredible pitching of late with another six shutout innings. Eli Iorg had three hits for the Legends, as his average continues to slowly creep upward (.240 now). The game was tied for the longest in the history of the franchise. The Legends won the first-half division title and are currently 11-14 in the second half, six games behind first place Lakewood.

Short Season A: Tri City also won in dramatic fashion. After allowing the Batavia Muckdogs to rally from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game in the top of the 9th, CF Nick Moresi won the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning. Moresi was a 3rd round pick of the Astros in 2006 out of a Fresno State University. Bryan Hallberg had a nice start, pitching six scoreless frames. Hallberg was the Astros 12th round pick in 2006, hailing from Pace University (NJ). The Valley Cats are 17-10 and hold a 1.5 game lead over Oneonta in the division.

Rookie: Greenville bashed Bristol 7-2. Kevin Fox earned his first save with three innings of one-hit relief in which he struck out six batters. Fox was a 15th round pick in the 2006 draft out of Biola University. SS Ronnie Ramirez continues to scald the baseball (.416/.471/.649 in 77 AB's). Greenville is currently 13-13 and sits four games behind first-place Elizabethton.

Rays Trade Watch: Ben Zobrist was 2-4 with a run scored for Durham last night. With a BJ Upton - Ben Zobrist - Delmon Young 1-2-3 punch, fans in Durham get pretty nice value for their buck. Last night's winning pitcher for Durham was Texas-Ex J.P. Howell, who threw five shutout innings and lowered his ERA since coming over from the KC system to 2.36 in five starts.